MDDL Version 2.0 Beta

FISD Market Data Definition Language (MDDL) Version 2.0 Beta

MDDL Version 2.0 (Fixed Income) Scheduled for Release July 1, 2002

June 24, 2002.

The beta version 2.0 of FISD's Market Data Definition Language (MDDL) covering the information required to set-up municipal, corporate, government and agency bonds is scheduled for release on July 1, 2002. The market data industry is encouraged to provide comments on the vocabulary structure, terms and definitions.

The working spreadsheet (version 5c) of MDDL 2.0 vocabulary and hierarchical relationships is now online.

The decision on the scope of 2.0 was made during the June 18 MDDL working meeting in NYC. FISD is working to deliver a functional MDDL specification to meet the application requests of the Bond Market Association's Security Master Database Project. Version 2.1 will cover the information required to disseminate price, yield and accrued interest data and will be released shortly after v2.0. In addition to the decision on the scope and timeframe for MDDL v2.0, the following issues were discussed during the working meeting.

There will be no modifications to 1.0. Edits and missing features will be incorporated into v2.1.
MDDL 2.0 terms and definitions need global review and validation. FISD is appending definitions in the following order - BMA required data elements; ISO standard terms; industry recommendations. Documentation for the vocabulary definitions is being reviewed by a small group and will be released for global review by mid-July (even though the beta specification will be released on July 1). Richard Robinson (Deutsche Bank) is the chair of the MDDL Vocabulary Committee and is managing the vocabulary process. Comments and suggestions should be directed to him.
FISD reinforced its commitment to incorporating MDDL terms and definitions (semantics) into ISO 15022 data dictionary. Comments and suggestions should be directed to Michael Atkin.
Practical applications of MDDL are FISD's primary focus. We have spoken with a number of firms in various stages of MDDL development and are interested in finding candidates to test the validity of the MDDL schema. If you are interested in working with us as a pilot case study, please contact Michael Atkin.
MDDL 2.0 documentation is in process. The technical specification is being edited and an implementation overview is being written. James Hartley (Reuters) is the Chair of the Technical Committee. All comments and questions about the specification and developer requirements should be directed to him.
The June 17 MDDL presentation is posted on the FISD website.